PEM in an Hour
21. Shoe Case
With more than 4,000 pairs, PEM’s shoe collection is one of the largest and most important in the United States. Here, you will see reflections of the North Shore shoe making industry, such as baby shoes made in next door Danvers in the 1960s. Find a pair of boots that seem to come from the American West. They were actually produced about 150 years ago in Central Asia. And, if you look closely, you’ll see a gift to the museum made by yours truly, a pair of tomato soup can shoes, made in 1999 that reflect the iconic work of American pop artist Andy Warhol. I feel honored to be able to add my own small contribution to this vast collection that spans time and the globe and will be here long after I’m gone.
Thank you
Thanks so much for taking our highlights tour, PEM in an Hour. Again, my name is Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, and I’m the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum.
Be sure to stop by our shop to get the PEM Guide, the essential introduction to PEM’s remarkable collection. I encourage you to listen to our award-winning podcast, the PEMcast, to learn more behind the scenes stories about PEM’s collection, rotating exhibitions, the artists we feature and the people who work here. And don’t miss our Salem Witch Trials Walk, an audio tour that takes you inside the museum with our curators and outside to key sites in downtown Salem. Take a different walking tour around Salem with PEM Walks. Our curators and experts unlock the stories of the historic structures that are an important part of the PEM experience of art and culture of New England and from around the world.